Club's pie and craft sale just peachy Members pleased with how event went

Monday

Nov 19, 2012 at 3:15 AM

By RON COLESpecial to the Democrat

FARMINGTON — Sunday morning at the Henry Wilson Memorial School in Farmington became a day of tribute. A day of tribute to the Farmington Woman's Club and more importantly a day of tribute for a small town's spirit.

“We started meeting in March to plan this event,” explained Kathy King, chair of the annual Pie and Craft Show. Some of us were familiar with craft fairs, and the longtime pie/craft fair in Greenland, “but we had never undertaken anything of this magnitude before.”

The Farmington Woman's Club raises funds to benefit local students with a scholarship fund and contributes to various community projects.

More than 100 pies were baked, all locally, and were the kind grandma used to make, as a matter of fact, some of the bakers were indeed grandmas.

With more than 47 exhibitors filling the gymnasium, the discerning craft fair shoppers had choices of doll clothes, jewelry, stuffed moose figures, cartoon characters on shirts, and a variety of homemade apple sauces, pickles and homemade jellies.

“Not only are our jellies and jams homemade,” explained 14-year-old Rachel Morin, a freshman at Farmington High School, “but the berries are hand-picked on our own land.”

Morin was part of a group of young high schoolers assisting the Woman's Club at the fair. Mostly daughters of parents involved in the fair, and all freshmen at Farmington High School, Emily Cantwell, Cassidy Maynard, Molly King, as well as senior Sarah Cantwell, the young women were all over the school. They were assisting with the raffle which consisted of items donated by each exhibitor, pouring coffee, and selling the pies, among other things.

Asked if she was had been eating any pie at home, Sarah Cantwell gave a good natured frown said, “Oh no, with all the pies being baked in our houses, they weren't for us to eat.”

Assisting Sarah Cantwell at the pie table were members of Venture Crew 55, an arm of the Daniel Webster Council. A group of teen boys and girls connected to Scouting who dedicate themselves to community service, the crew arrived at the school building at 7 a.m. and assisted the crafters in carrying their wares to the gym and setting up. The balance of the day saw the crew led by Farmington High School sophomore Libby Brooks ferrying the pies to the sales table.

Boy Scout Troop 188 was evident at the fair, running a concession stand. “We were going to do it ourselves,” said Kathy King, “but decided we should allow another organization to do their own fundraiser, kind of a fundraiser within a fundraiser,” she smiled. We'll probably do it each year with a different local group. The Scouts were raising funds for an exciting trip they will be taking to the Bahamas in April during which they will be working crew for a week on a sailboat.

Seen leaving the school were Farmington residents Tom Landers and MaryEllen West. With their arms filled with pumpkin, apple and meat pies, they commented that the pies would be eaten Sunday evening at a wedding. Asked whose wedding, they responded heartily, “Ours, this fair couldn't have happened at a better time, and it is local, too.”

Angela Depalma and Linda Ghareeb of Farmington were carrying out chocolate cream, pumpkin, and peanut butter pies. “We didn't anticipate this many people,” said Depalma. “I love buying pies here, you know who is making them.”

“I am so impressed with the feedback from around the school, it is wonderful to see so many local residents here, it is such a wonderful turnout. During the year, every time I asked somebody for assistance they responded positively. It is a small town thing, a Farmington thing. The people are beyond description,” said Kathy King, who was seen high-fiving committee member Penny Morin and exclaiming “we did it.”

Said club member Dottie Bean, referring to the volunteers who put the fair together, “They are an awesome team.”

With several hundred people streaming through in the course of the day, Club President Joanne Doke said, “It is pretty awesome that a town this size can put something like this on.”

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